Man kills pregnant wife for stepping out of the house in Dakshinpuri

New Delhi: A 29-year-old woman, who was five months pregnant, was allegedly murdered by her husband at their home in south Delhi’s Dakshinpuri near Ambedkar Nagar late Sunday night.

After strangling his wife, the man walked to the Ambedkar Nagar police station and confessed to the crime. The police rushed to his home, where they found the woman dead on the bed.

Police said the man, Vijay Sonewal, told them that he was angry because his wife, Hemlata, had stepped out of house during the lockdown. His wife’s family, however, alleged that Sonewal was an abusive husband and often got violent during arguments.

Sonewal, an auto driver, had found his house locked and his wife talking to some people in the neighbourhood when he returned with food from a nearby eatery around 9pm on Sunday, said deputy commissioner of police (south) Atul Kumar Thakur, quoting Sonewal’s statement.

Hemlata’s family members on the other hand alleged that Sonewal used to torture her ever since their marriage in December 2018. They said that Hemlata had filed for divorce barely six months into the marriage because of the domestic violence and Sonewal’s abusive behaviour.

“However, the court had asked my sister and Sonewal to resolve their marital discord by staying together. But Sonewal never mend his ways and the domestic violence continued,” said Hemlata’s sister Asha. Police couldn’t immediately verify if the case was indeed filed.

Around 12.30am on Monday, Sonewal came to the police station and claimed that he had murdered his wife at home. A police team was sent to his home, where his wife was found strangled to death on the bed on the ground floor, said deputy commissioner of police (south) Atul Kumar Thakur said.

“A case of murder was registered and Sonewal was arrested. His wife’s body was sent to AIIMS mortuary for autopsy,” the DCP said.

The police said Hemlata was Sonewal’s third wife while her’s was also the second marriage after her husband passed away almost five years ago. Hemlata’s eight-year-old daughter was at her maternal grandparents home when her husband allegedly murdered her after a fight.

Asha said that her sister worked as a caretaker in a private school. “She had to leave the job because of her husband,” she added.